Episode 1: This Other World Is Boring
"Aaah—I'm bored! I'm bored to death!"
"Ugh! There he goes again! How many times do I have to tell you to keep it down with those dignity-shattering shouts, Brother Wade!"
Unable to endure the ever-encroaching boredom as usual, I shouted out, and immediately, nagging rang out from beside me.
The one scrunching up the pretty face she'd been born with and rattling on was Lena Bayron.
After I was reincarnated into a medieval fantasy world, she became my newly acquired blood-related sibling, one year younger than me, as well as a co-registrant in our Count Bayron family genealogy.
In other words, my real sister.
The reason I insist on twisting it and calling her that is because, in this world, illegitimate children don't share the family genealogy.
This is actually a pretty important part, you know?
It's proof that our parents aren't so broken that they'd have secret affairs or bring the resulting bastards into the house.
Rather, we're quite a harmonious family.
So harmonious, in fact, that a younger sister dares to nag her heaven-like older brother.
Thus, even to the disgruntled voice of Lena, my undeniable real sister, I replied magnanimously.
"Yes, my genealogy mate. What seems to be the problem?"
"There you go again with that weird expression. Where in the world did you even learn that? Tutor Wigo never taught us anything like that."
"Is that so? You don't know, then? In that case, it is still too early for you. Let us leave the story at that."
"...Seriously, no matter how many times I hear it, it pisses me off. Didn't I tell you to drop that infuriating tone?"
I mean, I can't exactly say, 'You wouldn't know, but there's a place called Earth in another world, and this brother was reincarnated from there, so I'm using a way of speaking you don't know.'
Lena threw a fit, not understanding the sincerity of this older brother who deliberately held his tongue because telling her the truth could make her sense of reality collapse.
Why, you little sister...!
There is a clear hierarchy in our genealogy, yet you dare...!
"Anyway, can you stop saying weird things and be quiet? Can't you see I'm studying magic? Do you have any idea how delicate and focused a process this is?"
"How would I know? I dropped magic, after all."
To be exact, I didn't just drop magic—I gave up on sword training too.
Having experienced the transcendental luck of being reincarnated into a fantasy world, why would I give up on magic and swordsmanship, the very essences of a fantasy world?
Ha! This is why commoners who've never even set foot in another world are so...
Do they think magic and swordsmanship are things just anyone can do?
Oh, do they think I have a status window? Or some cheat ability? At the very least, a secret opportunity or hidden knowledge about the world?
'If I don't have any of that, what confidence makes them think learning magic and martial arts would be so simple?'
They might be deluded from seeing people pick it up as easily as eating cake in novels and comics.
But that's only because of cheat abilities or protagonist plot armor.
In reality, learning magic requires studying so intensely that it puts exam students from my previous life to shame.
And to learn martial arts including swordsmanship, you have to train so harshly that gym rats and professional athletes from my previous life would look like jokes.
Not only that, but you also have to be born with talent for mana.
In other words, both effort and talent are necessary.
I had neither.
Well, I suppose I could put in effort if I wanted to... but why should I?
Magic and swordsmanship definitely have killer style.
When I realized I had been reincarnated into a fantasy world not long after birth, I have memories of babbling incoherently out of excitement and anticipation for magic and swordsmanship, startling my wet nurse.
But after living in a fantasy world for about seventeen years, things like magic and swordsmanship become part of ordinary daily life.
Now, you want me to go through that intense studying and training to learn things that aren't even impressive anymore?
Especially when I don't even have talent?
'Not easy.'
I'm not the type to waste my time like that.
'Most importantly, it's not even that fun.'
Even back on Earth in my previous life, just because people thought magic tricks or kendo were cool didn't mean everyone tried to learn them.
It's more or less the same feeling.
"That's exactly why Mother and Father treat you like an idle noble. You don't study or train; you just play."
"I'm keeping up with my liberal arts studies, aren't I? And I exercise enough to stay healthy."
"If you didn't even do that, you would've been kicked out by Mother or beaten by Father long ago. I'm saying you don't have a proper goal."
Well, thanks to that, I'm regarded as a troublesome loafer in the household, but I don't particularly mind.
Because it's the truth!
I'm the second son anyway; it's not like I'll inherit the territory.
There's no reason for me to go out of my way to do something troublesome, right?
It feels weird to say this, but my dream and goal is to become a jobless bum who gets to play and eat for the rest of his life.
Wasn't being born a noble who can afford to loaf around as a loafer the greatest blessing of my life?
My diligent little sister, who has a talent for magic, doesn't seem to understand that side of me.
Wait, come to think of it, despite the clear difference in our genealogical hierarchy as siblings, is that the reason Lena dares to talk back so impudently?
Well, anyway.
Back to the beginning of the story.
Living like a loafer was all well and good, but there was one problem.
Just as I shouted moments ago and every single day, I was bored to death, and there was no way to relieve that boredom.
This was a problem that arose because, aside from magic and swordsmanship, there wasn't really anything in this fantasy world to devote oneself to for entertainment.
To me, who remembered the diverse and stimulating entertainment culture of my previous life, this was quite a serious issue.
So this is what they call the curse of knowledge?
"If you're bored, stop bothering me while I study. Read a book or something—don't you love them so much? We even got some new ones in recently, didn't we?"
"Ah, new books. We definitely did bring some in. Come to think of it, the number of books coming out these days has definitely been increasing, hasn't it?"
If there was one fortunate thing, it was that at least books had become easier to obtain, even in this entertainment-starved fantasy world.
And I don't simply mean because our household is wealthy or because book merchants frequently visit our territory.
More fundamentally, I mean that books themselves had become commonplace.
"It's all thanks to the development of papermaking magic and printing magic. How did they even come up with those kinds of spells? Isn't it amazing?"
Perhaps because she was a fellow mage, just as Lena said, her voice full of admiration.
Because a few years ago, papermaking magic and printing magic had been developed simultaneously.
Thanks to that, as if a revolution had occurred in the publishing industry, the speed at which books were released was growing faster by the day, and the volume had increased dramatically.
No, at this rate of change, couldn't we really call it the Paper Revolution or the Printing Revolution?
Unlike Earth in my previous life, it was a revolution brought about by magic rather than machines.
Anyway, it was good that so many books were coming out.
It was good, but...
"Then why are you sighing like that and making a fuss about being bored every day?"
"There are a lot of books coming out, but not many interesting ones."
There weren't actually that many books fun enough to relieve my boredom.
Most of the books being produced were biased toward autobiographies and academic texts, and there were practically no novels you could read lightly.
I need something to enjoy. I don't want to do extra studying or read the grandiose, delusional ravings of people I don't care about.
Once in a while, there were adventurer's expedition logs that were somewhat readable.
But they were more like diaries than adventure novels, so there wasn't much narrative fun.
In other words, entertainment novels—especially the kind that focused on the fun and story that I wanted—didn't exist.
How should I put it... the books currently being published were, first and foremost, driven less by the commercial goal of making money by selling books.
Should I say they were closer to a means of self-actualization or a storage medium for knowledge?
"Not that there's anything wrong with that, but because of that, there's a lack of excitement and passion—the kind that says, 'I absolutely must make people read this book!'"
Polished sentences crafted to draw readers in and make them interested.
Robust and systematic worldbuilding, flashy and stylish abilities and such.
Narratives of a growing protagonist and charming heroines.
Not a single one of these existed, so how could I feel like reading?
Honestly, I think it'd be more fun to go find my wet nurse and ask her to retell the old folk tales I heard as a child.
...Well, this was an unavoidable part, to some extent.
For starters, there were few people in this world with the knowledge, experience, or leisure to write books.
To begin with, not even the basic composition of literature called novels had been established.
For example, even a simple, basic formula like the four-part narrative structure of setup, development, climax, and conclusion had not yet been established here.
'Besides, no matter how much the Paper Revolution and Printing Revolution have occurred, the cost of publishing itself hasn't become free.'
In other words, the foundation for entertainment literature like novels that pursue fun had been laid, but it was still far from being born in earnest.
This wasn't limited to novels; the same was true for theater, music, cuisine, painting, and other forms of culture.
They might hold artistic or academic value.
But their value as entertainment culture by my standards was abysmally low.
"Aren't you being too picky, Brother Wade? I find even this much plenty entertaining."
"That's because you're a bookworm who even finds boring magic study fun. To a professional shut-in dopamine addict like me, these are perfect landmine novels—ones you drop after reading just the prologue."
"What are you even talking about? Speaking in nonsense again. Anyway, you say you're bored to death, but you're so picky. Are you really bored?"
Lena, who had been flipping through the books I brought beside me, chided me for being picky, asking if this much wasn't enough.
But wrong is wrong.
It's not because I'm some overfed pooch with a full belly. No matter what kind of mongrel you bring me, I'd spit it right out, ptui!
Thinking that, I looked at my bookworm little sister, devoid of empathy, with an aggrieved gaze.
Lena snickered and said,
"Well, if that's the case, look forward to tonight. I heard from Mother and Father that they've planned to invite a bard for dinner."
"A bard? So suddenly?"
It was news of an unexpected guest's visit.
Bard.
Literally, they were wanderers who roamed the continent singing songs and reciting poems.
Before the revolution in the publishing industry, they could truly be called the world's sole storytellers.
Even after the revolution, there were still more people who thought of bards rather than books when it came to stories.
Perhaps one could say this was a transitional period from bards to books.
I couldn't deny that bards were still the more popular pick.
'Well, in my previous life, there were plenty of YouTubers who read books or told stories out loud, after all.'
It was certainly true that listening to someone tell a story was more comfortable and vivid than reading it yourself.
I personally found reading more immersive and comfortable because I could go at my own pace,
but for most people in this world, reading was still unfamiliar, so it was understandable.
But separate from that, I wasn't particularly looking forward to this bard's visit.
Lena probably knew that too, didn't she?
"Bards basically just go around telling the same old clichéd stories all the time. Won't it be kind of boring?"
She knew full well that I didn't particularly like bards.
And for good reason: the bards mainly sang of legendary heroes, epics, and myths.
So isn't that interesting?
Yes, yes. I thought so too at first. I thought it would be something like the Greco-Roman myths or Romance of the Three Kingdoms that I enjoyed reading when I was young.
But I came to realize that all of those had been polished, fleshed out, and embellished to be suitable for children.
Without that packaging, the raw stories you actually heard
had stiff diction, similar and clichéd content, no detailed descriptions whatsoever—they were just simple lists of past events.
Moreover, each individual tale was short and barely connected, making it difficult to immerse yourself in the characters, and
Besides, when it comes to famous heroes or legends, everyone and their mother tends to sing about them.
After hearing the same thing a few times over, you get sick of it fast.
So of course I couldn’t help but feel lukewarm about the news that a bard was visiting.
Naturally, my little sister Rena should know my tastes, so I did wonder why she told me to look forward to it.
But Rena’s confident answer cleared up that question.
“Well? This time might be a little different.
The bard we’re inviting today isn’t just any ordinary bard—it’s none other than Lady Aria!”
“Aria, as in... that elven bard?!
The one they say is the most beautiful and outstanding of all bards?”
After all, the elven bard Aria was so famous nationwide that even I, who had no interest, knew of her.
An elf—a race said to embody beauty, and one that was hard to even lay eyes on—going around as a bard? If she weren’t famous, that would be stranger.
On top of that, since elves didn’t age, her career as a bard was incredibly long, and they said the fanbase she’d built over the years was tremendous.
To compare it to the standards of my previous life, wouldn’t it be fair to say she was like a wildly popular idol combined with a national singer?
At this point, even if she wasn’t a noble, she could easily be called a celebrity worthy of noble treatment.
“What brings someone that famous to a half-baked territory like this?”
It feels weird saying this myself, but our family isn’t exactly that big a deal, is it?
Wasn’t a superstar of this caliber supposed to be invited to the territories of great nobles, not some middling estate like ours?
“Right. She was invited to one of those great nobles’ territories and is just stopping by briefly on the way.
Mother and Father heard the news and invited her here.”
“Aha. If that’s the case, I’ll accept it.”
So the timing just happened to line up.
I didn’t have high expectations for bards, but maybe it would be different if it was someone this famous?
‘Please, let her satisfy my expectations this time and relieve my boredom...!’
And so, I waited for evening to come while praying.
***
It is unfortunate, but.
For all the times people say, “This time, it’s really, really different!” there aren’t actually that many cases in the world where things properly change.
Wasn’t that something you could tell just by looking at baseball teams in my previous life?
A team that put up overwhelming results early in the season and raised hopes with cries of, “This year is really different!”
Only to crash spectacularly in the latter half and fail to even make it to autumn baseball—not like that was a rare occurrence.
Or take a self-proclaimed top Vayne master who had never once won a promotion series, yet charged in saying this time he would definitely make Gold.
Like how a client never approves a piece of work in one go, and it ends up reaching revised_v2_final_finalforreal_truefinal.png.
Very unfortunately, that truth applied this time as well without fail.
And very, very unfortunately, the humble expectations I’d held after hearing Rena’s words were shattered to pieces, like our team’s AD carry after getting hit by Malphite’s ult.
‘I already know all of this.’
Because the stories sung by the elven bard Aria weren’t all that different from the stories told by the other bards I’d heard until now.
To be sure, Aria’s singing ability was, just as the rumors said, the best among all the songs I’d heard so far.
Her beautiful voice combined with the atmosphere given off by an elf’s unique beauty, exuding a sense of mystery.
She handled such a variety of voices, pitches, and rhythms that it was hard to believe she was singing alone, heightening the immersion.
And Rena and my parents, who were listening to the performance with me, seemed so deeply moved by her skill that they even shed tears of emotion.
But from my perspective, with standards raised to the utmost by the experiences of my previous life?
‘Boring.’
In the end, she shared the same fundamental problems the previous bards had.
In other words, just because someone has a good voice and sings well doesn’t make it exciting or fun.
They say a beauty is pleasing just to look at.
But for me, steeped in boredom for over a decade and disappointed after my expectations had been smashed, I didn’t even have the leisure to take in her appearance.
‘Even if I wrote the script, it’d be more interesting than that.’
The moment I thought that and swallowed a sigh inwardly—
Silence.
The hall suddenly became so quiet it was as if even the sound of breathing had stopped.
Sensing that the atmosphere had turned strangely chilly, I slowly turned my head and looked to the side, only to see Rena and my parents staring at me with expressions of shock.
No, it wasn’t just my family.
“...What did you just say?”
Even the elven bard Aria, who had been singing until just a moment ago, had stopped her song at some point and was asking me a question.
That expression, as if she found it absurd, yet also seemed angry and offended...
“Don’t tell me I just said that out loud?”
When I asked Rena beside me, a dreadful thought suddenly occurring to me, the answer I got was—
Nod.
“Ah.”
I’m screwed.